Fire Starting device and Method of Making the Same

ABSTRACT

A fire starting device comprised of a hand covering impregnated with a solid fuel and optionally other consumption safe additives. Unlike other fire starting devices, this fire starting glove can be safely worn by the user while preparing a fire starting site such as a charcoal grill or wood burning stove to protect the wearer&#39;s hands from dirt, grease, grime and minor injuries such as cuts or scrapes. Once the fire site is prepared and the user is ready to start the fire, the glove is removed from the hand by pulling from the wrist end which turns the glove inside out, encasing any dirt, grease, grime, etc. The glove can then be placed in the fire starting site and lit with a match or butane lighter, etc. and covered with charcoal, etc. to start the desired fire.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to fire starting devices. Moreparticularly, the present invention relates to a hand covering or“glove” impregnated with a solid fuel that assists a user in thepreparation of a fire site and starting of a controlled fire in saidfire site.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Preparation of a campfire, charcoal grill, wood burning stove,fireplace, or the like can oftentimes lend itself to being troublesomework. Cleaning may need to be performed to rid surfaces and componentsof dirt, ash, grease, or grime. A person may have to handle logs,charcoal or grill accessories such as grates and drip pans with theirhands. Without proper wearable protective gear, a person can becomequite filthy and even receive minor cuts, scratches, or other injuries.In order to start a fire after the fire site has been prepared, a sourceof fuel is needed to initially ignite the wood, charcoal, or othermedium. Modern fuels include liquid gas fuels such as butane, otherwiseknown as lighter fluid. Lighter fluid is only available as a completelyseparate product from any wearable protective gear for fire preparation.Additionally, lighter fluid produces undesirable aromas and, when usedto start a fire for cooking food, may impart a repelling flavor to thefood. Even more so, lighter fluid is poisonous and quite dangerous ifconsumed or if it comes in contact with skin, eyes, open flames, etc.Also, lighter fluid is not recommended for use in some cooking vessels,such as ceramic grills. Solid fuel based fire starters currently existbut they are in cube, block, chunk, or other form which render themimpossible to wear and thereby provide no protection from dirt, grease,grime, or minor injury. The present invention aims to address theaforementioned issues related to fire preparation by providing a new,singular device that allows a user to both prepare a fire site and starta fire in said fire site in a safe manner.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a glove of the fire starter device being worn on the handof a user;

FIG. 2 shows another embodiment of the glove of the fire starter devicewith an elongated forearm sleeve;

FIG. 3 shows three gloves of the fire starter device imparted withdifferent colors;

FIG. 4 shows many gloves of the fire starter device being dyed to imparta desired color;

FIG. 5 shows gloves of the fire starter device laid out in preparation(left) for submersior in the melted solid fuel (right); and

FIG. 6 shows gloves of the fire starter device, which have been foldedfor storage.

DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS OF THE INVENTION

All illustrations of the drawings are for the purpose of describingselected versions of the present invention and are not intended to limitthe scope of the present invention.

The present invention is a fire starting device comprising a handcovering or “glove” impregnated with a solid fuel. In use, a singularglove or two gloves are worn by the user during the preparation of acontrolled fire, such as for cooking, and then may be used to start thefire. For example, the user may handle logs or charcoal and undertake toclean dirty surfaces and components of charcoal grills, fireplaces, woodburning stoves, campfires, or fireplaces. The glove protects the user'shands from dirt, grease, and grime as well as minor cuts, scratches, orother injuries. The impregnated solid fuel allows the glove to be usedas a fire starter after preparation has been complete, or at whateverpoint the user intends to start the fire, eliminating the need forseparate liquid or solid fuels. After preparation, the glove may bepulled off the user's hand and turned inside out to enclose any dirt,grease, or grime and then be compressed in order to concentrate thesolid fuel for a prolonged burn. The glove may be ignited with aprolonged exposure to a fire source such as a match or butane lighterbut will not ignite upon a brief encounter with same, adding to thesafety of use. The solid fuel may be mixed with additives in order toproduce aromas or impart desired flavors to foods while the glove isburning, add a visually pleasing appearance to the glove, or assist inholding together the mixture of the solid fuel and other additives.

With reference to FIG. 1, the glove of the fire starting device ispreferably configured as a full glove that covers all five fingers andthe entirety of the hand up to the user's wrist. The glove may beconfigured as a partial glove, covering only some of the fingers andportions of the hand. The glove may also be configured as athree-fingered mitten in which one sleeve covers the thumb, a secondsleeve covers the index finger, and a third sleeve covers the remainingthree fingers of the user's hand. The glove may additionally beconfigured as a 2 fingered mitten in which one sleeve covers the thumb,and a second sleeve covers the remaining 4 fingers of the user's hand.Left-handed and right-handed gloves may be produced, as may ambidextrousversions. The glove is preferably made of a carbon-based, organicmaterial that is capable of combustion and, more importantly, safe forcombustion with foods. Such a material preferably includes cotton thathas been grown without any harmful synthetic agricultural chemicals suchas fertilizers or pesticides, but any other suitable material for makinggloves that satisfies these criteria may be utilized. The glove can bemade in various lengths, as shown by the glove with an elongated forearmsleeve in FIG. 2, and various thicknesses or weights.

The glove is coated or impregnated with a solid fuel. The solid fuel isan unreactive, or chemically stable, soft solid that may be easilymelted or otherwise reduced to a liquid state for impregnation with theglove. The solid fuel is therefore preferably paraffin was, which has acomparatively low melting point, odorless and tasteless characteristics,and is approved for human consumption. This makes paraffin wax desirableas a food-safe fuel that neither produces undesirable odors nor impartsrepelling tastes in food cooked over a fire started by the device.However, the solid fuel may be any other similar compound that has theaforementioned characteristics. The solid fuel, as an impregnatedcoating, provides the glove additional hand protection, resistance tothe ingress of water (water proofed), and fuel to start a controlledfire while imparting no undesired odor or taste.

The solid fuel may be mixed with additives. The additives include butare not limited to: consumption safe oils such as walnut oil, rosemaryoil, acorn oil, etc.; plant based extracts, such as vanilla flavoring,corn starch, etc.; plant based byproducts such as hickory sawdust,mesquite sawdust, apple wood sawdust, fig wood sawdust, pecan woodsawdust, etc.; and oil based food coloring. Though the additives are notrequired for the present invention to operate, they may serve to enhancethe usage of a glove or gloves. When the glove and solid fuel burn,consumption safe oils, plant based extracts, and plant based byproductsmay produce a desired aroma or impart a desired flavor to any foodcooked over a fire started by the device. The plant based extracts mayhold or draw together the other additives and solid fuel in order tomaintain The cohesion of the mixture of solid fuel and additives. Thefood coloring may be used to impart desired colors to the glove in orderto give the glove a visually pleasing appearance. Examples of threedifferent colored gloves are shown in FIG. 3. In another embodiment ofthe present invention, water-based food coloring may be applied directlyto the glove via dyeing prior to the impregnation of the solid fuel andother additives, as shown in FIG. 4.

The glove is impregnated with the solid fuel additives as describedherein below. The solid fuel, preferably paraffin wax, is heated in acontainer so that it may be melted into a liquid state, as shown in FIG.5. Any combination of the aforementioned additives including consumptionsafe oils, plant based extracts, plant based byproducts, aid oil basedfood coloring is then added to the solid fuel in liquid state. Theliquid state solid fuel and additives may or may not be stirred topromote a uniform mixture. Then, one of more gloves are submersed withinthe mixture to allow the solid fuel and additives to diffuse throughoutthe carbon based material of the one of more gloves. The one or moregloves is then removed from the mixture, rolled, folded, laid flat,etc., and allowed to cool. Alternatively, the solid fuel may beotherwise rendered in to a state in which it may be sprayed on or in tothe gloves before being rolled, folded, laid flat, etc., and allowed tocool. FIG. 6 shows gloves which have been folded for storage.

It is to be understood that the application for the present invention isnot solely limited to starting fires for cooking. The aspects of handprotection, water proofing, and fire starting capability afforded by thepresent invention ideally make it suitable to be included in emergencykits of all types (wilderness, natural disaster, camping, prepping,etc.).

Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferredembodiment, it is to be understood that many other possiblemodifications and variations can be made without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property orprivilege is claimed are defined as follows:
 1. A fire starting devicecomprised of a glove impregnated with a solid fuel.
 2. The device ofclaim 1 wherein said glove is also impregnated with consumption safeoil(s).
 3. The device of claim 1 wherein said glove is also impregnatedwith plant based extracts.
 4. The device of claim 1 wherein said gloveis also impregnated with consumption safe oils and plant based extracts.5. The device of claim 1 wherein said glove is also impregnated withplant based byproducts.
 6. The device of claim 1 wherein said glove isalso impregnated with consumption safe oils and plant based byproducts.7. The device of claim 1 wherein said glove is also impregnated withplant based extracts and plant based byproducts.
 8. The device of claim1 wherein said glove is also impregnated with consumption safe oils,plant based extracts, and plant based byproducts.
 9. The device of claim1 wherein said glove is also impregnated with food safe coloring. 10.The device of claim 1 wherein said glove is also impregnated with foodsafe coloring and consumption safe oils.
 11. The device of claim 1wherein said glove is also impregnated with food safe coloring,consumption safe oils, and plant based extracts.
 12. The device of claim1 wherein said glove is also impregnated with food safe coloring,consumption safe oils, plant based extracts, and plant based byproducts.13. A method of making a fire starting device comprised of a gloveimpregnated with a solid fuel, the method comprising of heating thesolid fuel in a container until the solid fuel reaches a liquid stateand submersing one or more said gloves in to the liquid to allow thesolid fuel to diffuse throughout the one or more said gloves therebyevenly coating the one or more said gloves before removing them from themelted solid fuel and shaping them in a desired shape for storage. 14.The method of claim 13 wherein the melted solid fuel is combined withone or more additives such as consumption safe oils, plant basedextracts, plant based byproducts, or food safe coloring.
 15. The methodof claim 13 wherein the gloves are colored with food safe coloringbefore being submersed in the melted solid fuel.
 16. The method of claim13 wherein the gloves are colored with food safe coloring before beingsubmersed in the melted solid fuel and any additives.